Sunday, October 30, 2011

Soccer Cleats: Price=Quality ?

Buying new soccer cleats, this is a consumer buying process that I have been through many times before. The problem recognition always starts the same in that I tear out of an old pair. The reason why I have gone through this process so many times is because typically soccer players will have three or at least two pairs of cleats. The first two are for normal hard ground play and the third specifically designed for wet/soft ground and each will usually last about a year to a year and a half.

Each information search begins with the evoked set implanted in my memory. This includes the brands I like, dislike, admire, and the shoes I can or can’t afford. This is when friends or my reference group comes into action with each friend thinking they know everything there is to know about soccer cleats.

There is so much risk derived from product availability. If you want to buy shoes from a local store they probably don’t have the styles/colors you want but if you buy them online you get the style and colors but trying them on is not available. These are shoes that are going to be worn through a whole season so of course there is going to be a high level of involvement. The comfort, styling, price, and other aspects all come into effect but rarely do players find a shoe they are truly happy with leading to the reason why there is almost always some buyer’s remorse over the purchase.

The reason why I’m writing this blog post is because they best shoes I have ever had were $55. On average I would spend around $110 for shoes but these $55 shoes I felt out-performed all my other shoes according to my standards. This information I realized is contradictory to normal consumer behavior where we assume higher price means higher quality. After I bought the $55 shoes I continue to buy them even today. Does anyone think this could be applied to the entire shoe market?

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